The science behind sleep and how to get more of it, was at the center of discussion at the “How to Sleep Better Seminar” May 6 on the Petaluma campus.

A second seminar was scheduled for May 8 on the Santa Rosa campus. The Santa Rosa Junior College’s Student Health Services sponsored the event.

Cheryl Higgins, a Student Health Services nurse, discussed the types of sleep and the importance of sleep in different areas of health including longevity, emotional health, learning and memory.

“It turns out that sleep is important before you learn. You’ll see that it doesn’t really make sense for you to go to your algebra class when you’re sleep deprived because you’re really not going to learn as well as if you go into that class rested,” Higgins said.

According to Higgins there are two types of sleep: Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep.

REM sleep, or dream sleep, helps refresh the emotional brain and aids in decision making the next day. Because most of REM sleep happens in the second half of the night, people who sleep less than seven to eight hours miss out on this type of sleep.

Bert Epstein, psychologist and assistant director of Student Health Services, shared tips on how to get more sleep.

Epstein said students should avoid eating heavy meals before bedtime or consuming stimulants like caffeine, alcohol and sugar at least four hours before going to bed. A light snack is permissible two hours before sleeping.

Epstein also recommended creating a sleeping environment and a bedtime ritual that gets the mind and body ready for bed. Epstein said it is important to schedule a regular time for going to sleep and waking up that is consistent throughout the entire week. A bedroom should be comfortable, dark and void of distracting sounds. “You want to turn your bedroom into a sleep-inducing environment, like a bat in a cave,” Epstein said.

Lynn Ellerbrock works at SRJC’s Shone Farm and liked the detailed nature of the seminar.

Ellerbrock said she’d read articles about sleep in magazines and online, but hadn’t found information about sleep that was as in-depth as the seminar.

“I think it [the seminar] was really great, especially the tips. I learned a lot,” Ellerbrock said.

“Stress and Sleep” screening tables were set up on both campuses from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free massages, healthy food and anti-stress kits were handed out to students.